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Jermain Defoe back with Toronto FC

No matter what the future may hold beyond this season, Jermain Defoe wants to make one thing perfectly clear: He’s focused on getting healthy and helping Toronto FC make the playoffs.

After weeks of stories suggesting that he wants out of town — suggestions which prompted a shot across the bow from Tim Leiweke, the man who brought him here — Defoe held his first press conference Wednesday since returning from England to get treatment for a groin injury and torn adductor muscle.

He wanted to clear the air about a few things: He never asked for a transfer; he wasn’t taking a shot at TFC’s medical staff by getting treated in England; and he holds no grudge against Leiweke, who said publicly Defoe should “get the hell out of our way” if he doesn’t want to be here.

“At the end of the day I’m still a TFC player, and I’m totally committed to the cause. In my first conference, I said I want to come here and I want to get into the playoffs. I want to push the team to do something that’s never been done before. Nothing’s changed. I’m even more hungry now,” insisted Defoe. “In my heart, I didn’t think anything was going to happen anyway, because I came here in March. For me it’s still early days, and it’s a crucial time. In my heart, I couldn’t really see me getting sold to another football club.”

Teammates and head coach Greg Vanney were delighted to have Defoe back in the fold, even though he’s unlikely to play until Oct. 4 against the L.A. Galaxy. TFC has six games left.

“We’ve got six massive games left, and we’re going to need everybody. Obviously we’re all happy to have him back,” added midfielder Michael Bradley.

Defoe admitted to some frustration and weariness over rumours linking him to a variety of clubs in the English Premier League ahead of the transfer deadline. It’s something that he’s seen many times before, he said.

“Especially when the transfer window opens, it doesn’t matter what club I’ve been at. There’s always seemed to be speculation around my future: ‘Is he gonna stay or is he gonna go?’ So to me it was like, ‘Here we go again,’” said Defoe, who emphatically denied a report he’d texted former head coach Ryan Nelsen shortly after Nelsen’s firing and said, “If you’re gone, I’m gone.”

Much of the transfer speculation was focused on Queens Park Rangers, where long-time Defoe mentor and coach Harry Redknapp is in charge. Redknapp was quoted in English reports as saying Defoe wanted to come home to England. Redknapp was wrong, Defoe said.

“He always says that,” said Defoe, with the slightest hint of a grin on his face. “Obviously Harry’s going to come out and say that, because of the relationship I’ve got with him. He knows I love playing for him, but Harry saying that, it’s not in my control.”

Still, he admitted he was open to joining QPR on loan during Toronto’s off-season, to stay in shape.

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Speculation that he wanted out of town heated up after he flew to England. But the trip was simply a matter of getting a second opinon on a groin injury he’d at first feared was a hernia, Defoe said. He went to see a physio he’s been dealing with his whole career.

“I was a little bit worried. I thought I had a hernia. With the symptoms I was getting, I was really restricted in my movement when I was playing in games and even in training. I was restricted. I couldn’t really shoot,” said Defoe.

When your body is your livelihood, it’s only natural to turn to a trusted adviser, said Bradley. And that’s not a shot at TFC’s medical staff, which Bradley says is “fantastic.”

“Athletes have doctors and physios that you build a relationship with where there’s trust, people you feel know your body,” said Bradley.

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